# Line of Duty Seventh Season Airs in January, Earlier Than Expected > The BBC's Line of Duty season seven will premiere in late January, cutting the wait from five months to just over two months. - Publisher: Briefzora (https://briefzora.com) - URL: https://briefzora.com/line-of-duty-seventh-season-airs-in-january-earlier-than-expected - Published: 2026-11-02T00:05:52+05:00 - Author: Briefzora Desk (https://briefzora.com/author/briefzora-desk) - Section: Politics - Topics: The Sun Newspaper, Exclusives, Line of Duty - Image: https://briefzora.com/uploads/2026/11/new-line-of-duty-series-to-hit-screens-much-sooner-than-expected-in-ma-cheemx.webp ## Key points - BBC moved Line of Duty season seven to late January, cutting the wait from five months to just over two months. - Line of Duty stars Martin Compston, Vicky McClure and Adrian Dunbar return for the new season. - The move is seen as a vote of confidence in the new series and follows the network's practice of airing major dramas in January. ## Why it matters Fans of Line of Duty will now receive the new season earlier than expected, reducing the anticipation period from five months to just over two months. ## Article BBC executives have moved the premiere of Line of Duty season seven from its traditional March slot to late January, shortening the wait for fans from five months to just over two months. Martin Compston, Vicky McClure and Adrian Dunbar will return to lead the new police corruption thriller, which the network says is a vote of confidence in the upcoming series. A TV insider said, "This will be welcome news for fans who have already been waiting five years for the next instalment in the story of AC-12." The insider added, "They will have been expecting this to land in late March and moving the show is a vote of confidence in the new series as January is when the Beeb likes to showcase its big dramas. Other shows, such as Sherlock, started off being broadcast in the summer, then shifted to January. It's also when it debuted The Night Manager." Rumour has it that bosses have viewed early edits of the new run and are delighted with what they see. After Line of Duty first aired on BBC Two in summer 2012, series two ran from February to March 2014, and series three, four, five and six all aired from late March. Series seven, revealed last year, breaks that pattern for all the best reasons. ## Mammoth Returns The comedy series Mammoth will return for its third series, with co-writer Mike Bubbins reprising his role as the gruff PE teacher who was frozen in 1979 and now faces life in the modern world. New guest stars include Elizabeth Berrington as Jo, Freddie Meredith as Tony's talent agent, Mark Benton as Roy and Sian Gibson as Mel, Tony's daughter. The five-part series is set and filmed around Cardiff and will return early next year. ## Stacey Slater Returns? Lacey Turner, who is currently dancing on Strictly Come Dancing, said she hopes to return to EastEnders as Stacey Slater. She told the Reasons To Be Joyful podcast that she "hoped" viewers would see her again after her exit a year ago. Turner added, "I can't take the credit for it because I've been given some amazing storylines, I've been trusted with some really big fragile storylines." She also said, "I love playing her. I miss playing her. And hopefully one day, you know, I will play her again." Netflix's The Diplomat has been renewed for another series following a gripping season four finale featuring Ambassador Kate Wyler and Vice President Hal Wyler. ## Black Doves Season Two on Netflix Keira Knightley's spy drama Black Doves returns for season two, set to launch on Thursday. Ben Whishaw, who plays assassin Sam, said the singer Chris Martin contacted him to express his love for the show. Whishaw replied, "It was out of the blue," and added, "I was a bit over-whelmed." He also noted his grandfather was a spy who passed information to the British during the German invasion of North Africa. Whishaw declined to appear on BBC's Who Do You Think You Are? and said, "I wouldn't be very good at it," to The Sunday Times. ## Rula Lenska Joins The Good Ship Murder Rula Lenska, known for her role as Claudia Colby on Coronation Street, filmed a guest role as a Baroness for The Good Ship Murder. She flew to Malta in May for the shoot and is expected to appear in the fourth series, which will air in early 2027, with a Christmas special later that year. She will appear alongside Shayne Ward, who plays cruise ship singer and former detective Jack Grayling. ## The Witch Cage Premieres November 29 A new BBC supernatural drama, The Witch Cage, starring Michael Socha and Gabrielle Creevy, will premiere on BBC One and iPlayer on November 29. The four-part series, set in South Wales in 1989, is inspired by real-life events and first-hand accounts. ## Paul Bettany's VisionQuest Injury Paul Bettany, who plays Marvel superhero Vision, revealed he accidentally popped ten blood vessels in his eyes while filming VisionQuest for Disney+. He said, "I was pretending to have a device on my head that is doing something to my brain, and I was just wildly overacting, and I blew out about ten blood vessels in my eye," during a Jimmy Kimmel appearance. VisionQuest is a spin-off of WandaVision, following a rebooted Vision in Edinburgh who is struggling with identity and purpose. --- When citing, please link to https://briefzora.com/line-of-duty-seventh-season-airs-in-january-earlier-than-expected and name Briefzora as the source.